Brain Tumour
I have thought long and hard before posting personal information on this particular forum, but I have exhausted all other avenues.
I unfortunately have been diagnosed with a brain tumour. This is the sort of news you really don't want to hear. Not that it matters, but I am only middle aged, and hope to live a good while longer.
I had a head MRI scan about three years ago after being unwell, and disclosed this to the CAA. The CAA did not ask to see the scan. Unfortunately, the Dr's who looked at this scan (I assume a neuroradiologist) and a Consultant Neurologist, both missed the tumour. I was then wrongly diagnosed with an illness I had to prove I did not have, which took the focus away from my real illness. The CAA took my medical away for many months before I was allowed to return to work.
By pure chance I had another MRI this year, and it showed I had a brain tumour. The CAA wanted to know how long it had been there, so I sent my previous scan off to the NHS for them to look at again. I heard nothing back, and when I chased this up, it was found they had lost the MRI disc. They apologised for this, and said they would just get the scan direct from the hospital. This was a few months ago. They have not done this.
I was then sent for a further follow up scan, which I have been told nothing about. Because of this, I had a Data Access request to see the results - it is worrying having such a condition, having been told it is 'probably' benign, and nothing else, other than initially losing my sight, etc, etc. When I got the report back, it stated my tumour was increased by 25% in the last four months. I heard nothing from either the consultant or the hospital.
Over a month has gone by, so I have now insisted on being told what is going to happen. When my GP finally got through to the department, they stated that they did not realise I had been sent for a second scan, so nobody has done anything about it. They had not even seen the results, which would normally be sent to them within a few days.
My self and my family are not prepared anymore to sit and wait while my condition gets worse, so I have had to pay for second opinion. Only through this have I found out that I had the tumour for three years, as it is clear on my first scan. All this time I have been unable to work, and lost a lot of income. I am fortunate enough to have paid (expensive) Loss of Licence insurance premiums for many years, but have lost the payments, as the CAA confused the insurance company by sending our consecutive contradictory information, and have given me no guidance at all about the implications for my medical.
I have pleaded with the CAA AMS to give some guidance so I can get appropriate treatment without unnecessarily endangering my licence, but have been told they will not 'speculate'.
Because the CAA won't say what I have to do, I am in a position where I cannot get back to work.
My point is this: all of these folk are trained and highly qualified Dr's, typically vastly experienced and highly qualified. The G.P. The AME. The consultants. The radiologists. The good folk within the CAA - industry experts in their chosen fields. There has to be some accountability. YOU DON'T JUST SIT AT YOUR DESK ALLOWING PEOPLE TO SUFFER. There is physical suffering e.g. a growing tumour; there is emotional suffering - the patient and the family; there is uncertainty, and the potential for long lasting damage to mental health; and there is career and financial damage.
If I was a bus or lorry driver, I could get the information I need in minutes - I'd log onto the DVLA website, and it is there - crystal clear, in detail. I could take this to my treating Dr, and discuss the implications against the risk of any procedure.
There appears to be such a lack of confidence between the Dr's involved in aeromedical certification that it leads on cases such as this, in complete parallasis in decision making.
I wonder how these folk would feel if they were placed in a similar position??
P.S. The tumour has nothing to do with lifestyle or general health - it's just a case of the hand of fate. Rather me than a child or baby.